Our use of cookies

Options

Back

We use cookies to help our site work, to understand how it is used, and to tailor the adverts presented on our site. By clicking “Accept” below, you agree to us doing so. You can read more in our
cookie notice. Or, if you do not agree, you can click Manage below to access other choices.

You can choose whether or not to accept advertising cookies from our advertising partner Google using the buttons below. If you choose not to, you will still see adverts on our site, because they help us to fund it, but those adverts will not be tailored to you. You can also choose not to accept session and analytics cookies through the settings in your browser, but some parts of our site might stop working as a result. You can also learn more in our
cookie notice.

Read More

The statement said: “Diana quickly assessed the situation, and her experience in these matters told her that they needed to take a different approach.

“If the hole that Zen had gone down, completely collapsed, he would be suffocated, they needed to try and dig him out from the other side.

“They quickly grabbed the shovels and the three very able gentlemen, started digging.

“Zen could still be heard barking and whimpering down the hole.

“The three guys worked like trojans, for more than an hour, with Pauline and Diana, who had fetched bowls from the ambulance, helping them to move the sand.”

After a while, the group could hear Zen’s barks were getting louder so they knew they were getting close.

The charity stated: “With renewed vigour they continued to dig. Soon Zen’s head became visible in the hole.

North Devon Animal Ambulance were called to Northam Burrows after a Jack Russell dog darted so far down a deep hole that his owner couldn’t retrieve him(Image: North Devon Animal Ambulance )

“Diana said she had just the tool to get him out and asked Pauline, to fetch the trusty swan hook.

“Diana guided by one of the men, was then able to gently wrap the hook around Zen’s collar, and while the men very gently moved the sand from around him, she was able to pull him out.”

The charity said the rescue took most of the afternoon and by the time the dog was free the rescuers were wet and muddy.

Zen was rescued “safe and well”. The charity’s statement continued: “Diana would like to express her gratitude to the three local gentlemen that assisted her in this rescue. Without their efforts we may not have had such a happy ending.”

North Devon Animal Ambulance said the dog owner was also “very grateful to everyone concerned”.